Now in his second season at Ferrari, Jock clear, who worked alongside Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve during Williams glory days in the mid-90s, admits the team has been hurt by James Allison’s departure.

"Obviously you're not going to find losing someone like James, someone of his calibre is not going to go unnoticed," admitted the Briton. "So the team is going to have to work pretty hard to support everybody and cover those gaps.

"In that respect Mattia (Binotto) is going to need help from everybody," he continued. "We're going to have to pull together.

"I don't think there is any suggestion that Mattia is going to immediately step into the kind of role James was doing,” he admitted. “But the fact is Ferrari has to move forward and we have to make the most of this situation as it is, and I know everybody is committed to pulling together and covering any of those areas where James was very, very strong, and he will be missed, but that's the challenge for us."

Clear, whose F1 career began with Benetton in 1989, first came to the public's notice when he moved to Williams 1995 where he worked with Damon Hill and then Jacques Villeneuve, following the Canadian to British American Racing.

Following Villeneuve's departure Clear remained at Brackley as the team morphed into Brawn and then Mercedes. At the end of 2014 it was revealed that the Portsmouth born engineer was heading to Maranello in 2015, having seemingly spent his entire career battling the Italian team.

"I started in January and this half of the season has been, as you see now, dominated by tragic events in March and that affected all of us, affected us emotionally, affected us practically. So I certainly don't think I've seen Ferrari in the most enjoyable light, if you see what I mean, with that shadow hanging over us.

"But what I have seen is a very motivated group of guys, a very motivated team, a very passionate team, and an unbelievable will to win.

"As I've said recently, that passion can sometimes be our Achilles heel, it can sometimes be something that holds us back, but overall that passion is what is going to get us over the finish line, that passion is what drives people in Ferrari day by day.

"However tough things are we rely on that and that's the biggest factor for me, that's the biggest eye opener for me, just the sheer passion running all the way through the company, it's fantastic."